![Holm House by Guard Tillman Pollock Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/06/holm-house-guard-tillman-pollock-architects-architecture-residential-modernist-london-uk_dezeen_hero-852x479.jpg)
Guard Tillman Pollock slots modernist-styled Holm House behind Highgate residence
British firm Guard Tillman Pollock punched a hole through a detached Edwardian property in north London to create a driveway leading to this modernist-inspired house that faces onto a secluded garden.
![Holm House by Guard Tillman Pollock Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/06/holm-house-guard-tillman-pollock-architects-architecture-residential-modernist-london-uk_dezeen_2364_col_8-852x568.jpg)
The existing house is situated on a landlocked site at the end of a terrace in Highgate, north London. Its previous owners had also purchased an adjacent piece of land that could only be accessed through a narrow gate between the house and the terrace.
![Holm House by Guard Tillman Pollock Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/06/holm-house-guard-tillman-pollock-architects-architecture-residential-modernist-london-uk_dezeen_2364_col_6-852x568.jpg)
Guard Tillman Pollock was tasked with creating a larger house on the awkwardly shaped plot that provides an improved connection to the garden and views towards the nearby woodland and London skyline.
Attempts to purchase a strip of land from one of the neighbours to create a new entrance were unsuccessful, so the living room on the ground floor of the two-storey house was removed to make way for an opening that accommodates a curving driveway.
![Holm House by Guard Tillman Pollock Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/06/holm-house-guard-tillman-pollock-architects-architecture-residential-modernist-london-uk_dezeen_2364_col_5-852x853.jpg)
"Demolishing the existing house to create space for a driveway seemed heavy handed and would not have been a sustainable solution to the problem," said the architects.
"It was decided that the best solution was to reconfigure the existing house as a gatehouse and create a driveway passing through it to a new house in the landlocked garden."
The interior of the existing building was reconfigured and a previously unused attic is now utilised so the overall internal area remains much the same as previously.
![Holm House by Guard Tillman Pollock Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/06/holm-house-guard-tillman-pollock-architects-architecture-residential-modernist-london-uk_dezeen_2364_col_7-852x1278.jpg)
Bedrooms are accommodated on the ground, first and second floors, with a living space and kitchen moved to the first floor.
The new driveway sweeps down a slope from the street, through the gatehouse and around to the right to reach a courtyard on the first-floor level of the new house.
![Holm House by Guard Tillman Pollock Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/06/holm-house-guard-tillman-pollock-architects-architecture-residential-modernist-london-uk_dezeen_2364_col_2-852x1278.jpg)
The courtyard is flanked by solid walls with no windows. One of the walls supports a large volume containing the master bedroom that extends over the driveway and is propped up at its end by a concrete pillar.
Below the courtyard are a pair of bedrooms connected by a corridor to an open kitchen and dining area that looks out onto the garden through full-height sliding glass doors.
The volume containing the reception area at the courtyard level and two bedrooms above is set back from the garden-facing elevation to accommodate a terrace lining the upper floor.
![Holm House by Guard Tillman Pollock Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/06/holm-house-guard-tillman-pollock-architects-architecture-residential-modernist-london-uk_dezeen_2364_col_1-852x1287.jpg)
Incorporated into the floor of the terrace at one end is a roof light that allows natural illumination to flood down through a double-height void linking the reception room with the dining area.
The floor at the other end of the terrace is made from metal mesh that enables light to penetrate to a covered area outside the ground-floor bedrooms.
![Holm House by Guard Tillman Pollock Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/06/holm-house-guard-tillman-pollock-architects-architecture-residential-modernist-london-uk_dezeen_2364_col_3-852x568.jpg)
As with the living spaces and bedrooms on the lower floor, the top-floor bedrooms are also flanked by sliding doors that ensure optimal views towards the woodland surroundings.
A slot window incorporated into the wall of the reception space frames a specific view of the trees. The glazing projects out from the facade so the window frame is concealed and the interior feels more connected with the outdoors.
![Holm House by Guard Tillman Pollock Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2017/06/holm-house-guard-tillman-pollock-architects-architecture-residential-modernist-london-uk_dezeen_2364_col_0-852x602.jpg)
The building is finished in a smooth grey render with dark window frames that lend it a distinctly modernist feel, influenced by local residential projects such as John Winter's 1967 private home and Berthold Lubetkin's Highgate development.
Guard Tillman Pollock's other modernist-influenced projects in London include a home for an artist featuring a crisp white facade incorporating a painted fabric screen, and a narrow extension featuring vertical slices of glazing.
Photography is by Gareth Gardner.